French President Hollande's popularity down again: poll

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's popularity was back to record lows in June after inching up in May, according to an Ifop poll carried out for French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

The survey for publication on Sunday showed 26 percent of those interviewed were satisfied with Hollande's performance, down 3 percentage points, while 73 percent were dissatisfied, up 2 points.

The proportion of people satisfied with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also declined 2 points to 31 percent.

The Socialist government has been struggling with rising unemployment, stalled economic growth, and a large public deficit, while Hollande's same-sex marriage law prompted huge protests.

Elected in May 2012, Hollande's low popularity is lower than almost all previous presidents at the same point in their terms.

The study was based on the views of 1,865 people aged 18 or over contacted by telephone between June 14 and June 22.